Goals:Luna 3's goal was to take the first photographs of the far side of the moon, a region never seen by human eyes. It also carried micrometeroid and cosmic ray detectors.

Accomplishments:Although the spacecraft suffered heating and communication problems, it took 29 photographs of the far side of the moon with wide angle and telephoto lenses. The spacecraft developed the film and then beamed the images back to Earth, providing humanity with its first grainy views of the far side of the moon. The photos showed far fewer signs of volcanic plains on the far side, prompting scientists to revise their theories of lunar evolution.